Berkshire charity offers free HIV tests for three months

The tests can also be carried out at home

A charity has launched a campaign to get as many people as possible to test for HIV in a bid to stamp out transmissions by 2030.

Thames Valley Positive Support (TVPS) has partnered with Reading, Wokingham and West Berkshire councils to deliver free tests.

Launched during National HIV Testing Week this month, the scheme offers free community testing sessions across Berkshire.

The campaign will run for three months.

Funded by the councils' public health teams, the sessions take less than a minute to give a result, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

TVPS, based in Slough, was founded in 1985 and supports the government's target of having no new HIV transmissions by 2030.

The charity is also offering free postal HIV tests kits, sent in plain packaging, with results being received via text or phone call.

Sarah Macadam, TVPS director, said "It's fantastic to have the support of public health who are just as committed as we are to driving rates of HIV transmission to zero.

"We're offering a choice of tests to make it as easy as possible for people to know their HIV status, either in the comfort of their own home or at one of our testing venues."

She said Covid had pushed HIV testing off the "top of everyone's agenda" but that "now is the time to get back into the habit of testing for HIV and making it an essential part of your healthcare routine".

The testing venues will be located in central Reading, Wokingham and Newbury, with information on location and appointment times being provided by TVPS once contact has been made.